Jes Lee

Day to day

Season changes and artwork challenges

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It has been a bit quiet around here again.

That is due mostly to the fact that I have been very busy printing book pages, and planning artwork for my show.

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After a few long days of printing on the etching presses at MCBA, I am two print runs away from being finished with one book.

I also took a class to learn photo-polymer-graveur! This is something I have been wanting to learn about for some time. It is just one in a series of old photography printing techniques that has been adapted a bit to modern technologies.

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It was amazing! I’m really excited to work with this process more.

The seasons are shifting, and suddenly there seems to be more photo jobs than time. I’m not complaining though! Each job is fun and full of amazing people and opportunities! However, I will admit to wishing there was a fairy around at times to help with the work load…but who hasn’t done that once in awhile?! ;)

Mostly I have just been my moody, contemplative little self lately, contemplating how I fit into the grand scheme of the artwork I’m working on and how I could manage to cram a few extra hours into each day. Upcoming deadlines, projects, and that another birthday is sneaking up on me…around 12 weeks away as my mom recently reminded me…maybe I’ll skip that one this year!

In the morning it will be April, and just like always I look at the new month and think positive thoughts. Tomorrow marks National Poetry Month and for the first time I am going to attempt at participating! While I have written quite a bit for my project, I need a better writing practice, and I am continuing to search for what that means to me. Perhaps a poem a day will be it. I am not planning on blogging what I write each day, but maybe I will. You never know. Right now I am more obsessed with what notebook/sketchbook/iPhone/Android/laptop/pens/pencils/handwriting style I will use for this writing…this could be why my writing practice is not very well structured…I’m too focused on what toys to write with! Ha!

For now, I am off to get a bit of sleep before a full day of work tomorrow. Happy Spring!

 

 

printing and gluing, printing and gluing…

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….that seems like all I have done the last few days, with a bit of waitressing, and one day of skiing with John thrown in for a bit of variety.

It is Tuesday night, and it already feels like it has been a long week. Yesterday was divided pretty evenly between working my day job and working on a project for my box making class.

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Today I spent the day printing on one of the sweet little etching presses at MCBA. I had John drop me off on his way to work, and pick me up on his way home. I printed the entire time I was there (except for some time spent trying to tame a plate with a “rebellious spirit” – named that by my friend Erin), and a bit of time for lunch. I am learning this new printing process quite well, and I’m sure I will be able to print in my sleep by the time I am done with this project. I’m heading back to their studios Thursday for another full day of printing.

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Tomorrow will be another day full of my day job, and more work on my box in the evening.

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I love what I am doing. And there is something amazing about turning off the computer, and other social media things, putting on head phones, and cranking out prints. Much like being back in the darkroom in college. This is a lot of work, and this show that is going up in June is a big challenge for me. I know I have said that before, and I have a few friends that I’m sure think I’m a broken record or something. But the work I am creating for this is a lot different from what I have done before. It is challenging me in a lot of good ways! But it is a long process.

So, one day at a time, breaking down each big project part into little parts and working on those one by one, step by step,…

…and looking forward to the weekend, just a bit!

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In my head

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I admit it has gotten a bit quiet again around my blog.

I haven’t gone anywhere. I have just been working hard on my project, which has included a lot of non-visual not-very-exciting prep work, but things are moving a long smoothly. I have done a lot of research and writing as well.

I admit that I have also been sucked into a really good book and I have often been spending every quiet moment reading “just one more page” instead of updating things here. I’m not apologizing for that though! Perhaps I will post a little book review of it here later, just to make up for being quiet ;)

Things in my personal world have been a bit whirl-wind-ish lately as well, which is really nothing new. That always tends to make me a bit more introspective and into journaling more than blog posting. Ho hum. Enough excuses.

We are having a gorgeous snow storm today! The kind that makes you want to curl up and read from a warm couch where you can watch the flakes swirl down! The kind that makes you start planning skiing and outdoor wintery activities later in the week. The kind that makes you start clearing schedules….

…..or is that just me?

Maybe I’ll be inspired to post some snow photos later. For now, I’ll be here, reading and sketching and daydreaming.

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New supplies, new colors

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After sorting through a bunch of new supplies for pieces for my show, I was so excited I just had to post about them!

I took a few photos with me (Impossible Project instant film photos to be exact) to Wet Paint so I could pick out papers to cover boxes with. My paper color palette ended up going in a completely different direction than I thought, with a lot more warm and sepia tones than I usually have in my artwork. But you know what? I’m super excited about it! This is honestly the first time I have picked out a stack of papers that just look so cool together.

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Of course the lighting is just a bit funky in my kitchen where I had these lovely pieces out of their wrapping, but you will get better visuals soon when I start putting them to work!

What else came today?

A set of Smart Plates (no photo of these, they aren’t very exciting until I get the text put on them) from Takach Press, lithography ink,

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and a gorgeous new brayer!

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I also purchased one more large piece of binders board and a large piece of rag board for constructing boxes.

*swoon*

Now to get to work!

 

Dive right in

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Within just a few days I have gotten to the “make it work” point of so many parts of this project. Printing supplies have been ordered, lay-outs are almost done…

Last night I was finally able to go to the Extreme Box Making class taught by Jodi Williams at MCBA. I had to miss last week’s class due to being sick. This class could potentially change the way I create! Ok, maybe not that drastic, but it is giving me all sorts of new ideas. I’m off to my favorite little art supply store later today to buy supplies for my class project. (Yay for buying paper!!) My class project will actually be a part of my show…or will lead to a piece that will be in my show. I had tentative plans for making little boxes to be displayed along the wall in the gallery, and this will be the start of them. In some ways, this class is kicking my butt into physically making something for this show instead of just imagining it and trying to perfect it in my head first. I need to be making it, not just day dreaming about it!

There is the little matter of how sitting in the class room/gallery my show will be up in is reminding me how very large it is and how much space I have to fill up….but I am not going to dwell on that now!

Head down, back to work!

Photo/word count:

February 23rd

words: 100

iPhone photos: 2

February 24th

words: 0

iPhone photos: 3

February 25th

words: 369

iPhone photos: 8

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Counting

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Yes I’m still here!

I haven’t posted here for a few days, but I have kept up on a new daily journal practice, as well as still counting my photos and words written every day. I like where all of this is going, and I plan to keep it up!

Here is what has gone on since I last posted:

Thursday was Valentine’s day. 10 years ago John was at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin waiting order to be sent out of the country. 10 years ago it was a Friday, and I was waitressing. John had a dozen roses delivered to me at the restaurant, plus a few other surprises he planned with my mom. She would always help him carry out secret plans to surprise me with things while he was gone.

Well, this Valentine’s day was simple, but so much better than 10 years ago. Together we went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts where you could give your favorite piece of artwork a valentine. Then we went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants on Eat Street, and enjoyed a night out together. It was the simple act of being together that made it so much better!

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I actually dried those roses, and I still have the rose petals…10 years later!

The rest of the weekend was a blur. Things have been crazy busy at my day job and I have been working extra filling in for a sick co-worker. Of course a lot of that has caught up with me and I have come down with a nasty cold or something as well.

I am trying to rest more to get over it fast! I have a lot of work to do today, but all of it can be done on my laptop while curled up on the couch.

Daily statistics:

February 14th

Words written: 140

iPhone photos: 3

Film photos: 3

Instant film photos: 8

 

February 15th

Words written: 0

iPhone photos: 5

 

February 16th

Words written: 259

iPhone photos: 3

 

February 17th

Words written: 126

iPhone photos: 1

 

February 18th

Words written: 76

iPhone photos: 1

 

I am not posting my stats for today, because today is far from over yet!

10 years ago

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10 years ago, today was a Thursday. It wasn’t snowing. It was a generally overcast February day. 10 years ago today, John left to go first to Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, and then over seas to Iraq for an undetermined length of time. 10 years can really seem like a long time, because it seems like so long ago that we dealt with that, yet at times the memories are still quite fresh and familiar. I am grateful that today, celebrating the fact that he is home, and that today is so very different from 10 years ago. We celebrated all of this pretty quietly, with a few extra kisses, and a beer after dinner, but it is still important.

Today was one of the days I was working at my day job most of the day, so my daily count stats aren’t the greatest, but that’s ok!

Currently, I am enjoying spending my evening cutting out book pages, and listening to music with John. Celebrating 10 years.

Word count: 178

iPhone photos taken: 2

yellow ribbon 1

Yellow Ribbon #1 from the Waiting Ribbons series

 

A day

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Words written: 480

Photos taken: 24 iPhone photos (I was trying on sunglasses…) 307 digital photos (I was photographing the show at MCBA)

Favorite photographers I had a chance to chat with in person today: 2

Pottery pieces glazed: 4

Photos uploaded to Flickr for a photo job: 65

Analog photo scans touched up for eventual web and flickr posting: 16

Mugs of tea drank: 2 in an Egyptian themed mug from Las Vegas found in MCBA’s cupboard.

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Accountability

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I want to start by saying that the past weekend was great! I worked my day job Friday morning, then photographed a big event at MCBA Friday night. There were quite a few people that were very grateful I was there photographing, which of course made me feel good! Those photos will be processed and posted soon.

Friday evening we started the birthday celebrations for my dear husband. We had dinner at our favorite little brew pub after I was done with my photo gig, then came home to relax. Saturday we spent the morning baking his birthday cake (orange cake with lemon filling and a vanilla frosting!!) and made a couple of other treats to bring over to a friend’s house. We played games and watched movies pretty much the second half of the day. Sunday was his actual birthday. 10 years ago he was reporting for meetings and orientation and preparation for going overseas with his army unit. It wasn’t snowing. This year we got loads of snow, and spent the day driving through the snowy city searching for vintage records. Much better, don’t you think? ;)

Of course I didn’t do much artwork this weekend. This weekend was about celebrating, as it should be.

It always seems like it is a smidge hard to get back into the swing of things when I have taken days off of working. I know it is necessary, and I probably need a few more breaks than I give myself, but it has gotten me thinking about how I work, and how to help myself work better, and more importantly, how to hold myself accountable and give myself credit for the work I have done. So I am trying something new.

Many writers (many that I know personally and adore) keep daily word counts, to hold themselves accountable, to write every day, and to keep working. It isn’t the end of the world when there is a day that no words are written, and the words that are written certainly don’t have to be the best, but they are there. They still count.

So, I’m trying my version of that. A daily word count, a daily photo count, and a count of anything else I have done that day. We’ll see where this leads! If nothing else, it gives me something to post here a bit more frequently, which also counts as writing ;)

Photos taken: 4 iPhone photos

Words written: 410

Book page layouts printed: 6

My workstation tonight:

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